Vertical electrical barriers, typically made from Glass Polyester Laminate, GPO 3, and the like, are used for insulating the vertical buss in each section. The barrier has slots for the horizontal branch busses and power connectors along with a series of vent openings.
The location of horizontal main bus and breakers in the section determines the slot requirements for power connectors and horizontal branch buses in the insulation barriers. To satisfy all the scenarios of these locations there are many different variations of these vertical wall insulation barriers.
Thus there is a need to consolidate these vertical wall insulation barriers by making knock-out features for power connectors and horizontal branch busses in a master part. Knocked-out features can be popped out in various combinations of power connectors and placement of horizontal branch busses to make multiple parts in the assembly line and on the field. Making a master part saves time in fabrication and logistics.
There are many applications for such an invention, such as, for example, switchgear, switchboards, to name a few. Switchgear and switchboard are general terms which cover metal enclosures, housing switching and interrupting devices, such as, fuses, circuit breakers, relays, along with associated control, instrumentation and metering devices, such as, bus bar, inner connections, and supporting structures, including, assemblies of these devices with associated buses, interconnections and supporting structures used for distribution of electric power.
There are High Voltage switchgear and switchboards, Medium Voltage switchgear and switchboards, and Low Voltage switchgear and switchboards.
Low voltage switchgear and switchboards operate at voltages up to about 635 volts, and with continuous currents that can exceed about 5000 amperes. These Low voltage switchgear and switchboards are designed to withstand short-circuit currents up to about 200,000 amperes.
Low voltage switchgear equipment typically comprises of an assembly composed of multiple metal enclosed sections. Each section may have several circuit breakers stacked one above the other vertically in the front of the section with each breaker being enclosed in its own metal compartment. Each section has a vertical or section bus which supplies current to the breakers within the section via short horizontal branch buses that extend through insulated openings in the rear wall of the breaker compartments. The vertical buses in each section are supplied with current by a horizontal main bus that runs through the line-up. The rear of the section is typically an open area for the routing of cables.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,030 (David L. Bass, et al.) the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference discloses a modifiable utility outlet box cover element formed of thin, metallic sheet material useable without modification in a substantially square form in closing a substantially square utility outlet box including slots through which screws may be passed into engagement with screw receiving means carried by such utility outlet box. The four corner portions of such utility outlet box cover element, two of which include such slots, are readily separable from the remainder thereof along slots cut deeply into one of the surfaces of such utility outlet box cover element; such remainder of such utility outlet box cover element being shaped and proportioned to close octagonally shaped or round utility outlet boxes and including knock-out portions which, when readily separated from the remainder of such utility outlet box cover element, provide openings through which screws may be passed into engagement with screw receiving means carried by such octagonal or round utility outlet boxes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,740 (Milton Meckler) the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference discloses a modular system of solar insulation panels having sun tracking capability and adapted to be installed directly upon a roof structure and integrated with the surrounding roofing, and comprised of prismatic lenses embodied in a multiplicity of transparent tubes disposed in normal relation to the traverse plane of the sun, and arranged upon an insulation panel and with corner fittings and knock-out plugs to be employed as circumstances require.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,509 (David Barrell, et al.) the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference discloses a metal foil laminate including at least one sheet of metal foil directly bonded to one face of a sheet of glass fiber reinforced polyester resin, and a continuous process for preparing such laminates. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has established standards for various base materials. Standards for polyester glass-mat sheet laminates have been established by NEMA, such as, grades GPO-1 GPO-2 and GPO-3.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,339 (Douglas M. Boudon, et al.) the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference discloses a knock-out in the wall of the housing for electronic equipment is selectively removed to provide a knock-out opening. A wall includes first and second slits positioned along the boundary of the knock-out and separated by a land. The wall includes a break out opening adjacent to each land. Break portions of the wall separate the break out opening from the first and second slits. These break portions are severed to interconnect the first and second slits through the break out opening and permit removal of the knock-out. Plural such slits and break out openings are provided and arranged to provide a knock out of rectangular or other desired geometric shape. The slits and break out openings are sized to provide electromagnetic interference shielding. Also, the break portions are of a length which is approximately no greater than the thickness of the wall and are positioned to facilitate removal of the knock-out without deforming the wall and without leaving burrs in the knock-out opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,414 (Fred M. Hayes) the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference discloses a method of removing electrical box knock-outs which includes utilizing a hand tool which has elongated jaws, one with a ring and the other with a punch directed toward the center of the ring. By positioning the jaws on opposite sides of a box wall and closing the jaws, the punch and ring close on the knock-out and the punch deflects the knock-out through the ring so that the knock-out can then be twisted and removed by needle nose pliers, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,169 (Douglas M. Dygert, et al.) the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference discloses a novel composite package including a rectangular, outer, paperboard box and a rectangular, thin-walled, lightweight, molded plastic bottle within the box suitable for use with hazardous liquid materials. At its upper end, the bottle has a pouring spout adjacent its front wall and an elongated hollow handle extending from the pouring spout to the rear wall and defining an air passageway between the pouring spout and the liquid containing chamber within the bottle. A vent spout is provided at the rear of the hollow handle. The top flap assembly of the box includes knock-out flap portions which overlie the pouring spout, the hollow handle, and the vent spout, those knock-out portions being removable when it is desirable to pour liquid from the package. A pair of paperboard reinforcing pads are placed between the underside of the top flap assembly and the top of the plastic bottle, the pads enhancing the crush resistance and impact strength of the package.
US Patent Publication No. 20040127614 (Peijun Jiang, et al.) the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference discloses in paragraphs 599 to 601, a polyester-glass laminates, Grades GPO-1, GPO-2, and GPO-3 polyester glass-mat sheet laminates which are intended for both mechanical and electrical applications. In a specific example, the laminate article is formed in the following way: An adhesive composition is applied between a first layer and a second layer and between the second layer and a third layer to form a three layer laminate article, wherein the adhesive composition includes 95 percent by weight polymer and 5 percent by weight tackifier.
Thus there is a need for a master or a universal type electrical insulation barrier having knockout features for an electronic apparatus.
This invention overcomes the problems of the prior art and provides a novel method and an apparatus for electronic assemblies by providing a master or universal type electrical insulation barrier having knockout features for an electronic apparatus.